asking to be allowed an outfit in addition to his salary as chargé d'affaires in consideration of his having been accredited as such at St. Petersburg during the period that elapsed between the departure of Mr. Dallas and the arrival of Mr. Cambreleng as minister at that court. There does not appear to have been any report thereon by either House of Congress, and the same petition has been renewed by his executrix since his death.

The committee do not find that such allowance has been made, as a matter of course, to a chargé d'affaires ad interim. It has been allowed in some few instances, where the duties were discharged for a long period and when it appeared that they were of a character really entitling the officer to some compensation additional to the difference in salary between that officer and the salary of a secretary of legation. On inquiry at the Department of State and by reference to the correspondence there of Mr. Cambreleng and Mr. Todd, the successors of Mr. Dallas, it does not appear that such was the case in regard to the services of Mr. Chew (referred to in the letters of the Secretary of State to Mr. Slidell, of this committee, dated respectively the 14th and 17th of July, 1854, and filed with the petition).

The committee are therefore of opinion that the prayer of the petition should not be allowed.

[See pp. 677, 682.]

July 28, 1854.

[Senate Report No. 371.]

Mr. Mason made the following report:

The Committee on Foreign Relations, to whom was referred the memorial of Horatio J. Perry, secretary of legation at Madrid, praying compensation as chargé d'affaires for the several periods during which he acted in that capacity, have had the same under consideration and now report:

That the memorialist represents that, acting under the instructions of the Secretary of State and by order of the President of the United States, he has been called upon to serve the Government as their diplomatic representative near the court of Spain during the following periods, viz: From the 3d of July to the 24th of October, 1852; from the 11th of May to the 21st of June, 1853, and from the 4th of September to the 22d of October, 1853, making an aggregate of six months and twenty-two days, during which he has only received the compensation of a secretary of legation, and asks that he may be allowed the difference between it and the compensation of a chargé d'affaires for the time he thus acted.

The memorial is accompanied by a letter from the Secretary of State addressed to the Hon. Mr. Norris, United States Senate, dated 14th of July, 1854, in which he says:

At the request of Mr. Perry, secretary of the legation of the United States at Madrid, I transmit his petition to Congress for compensation as chargé d'affaires at times when he discharged the duties of that office. I believe the statements in the petition are correct.

The committee, regarding the claim as just and reasonable, report a bill in favor of the memorialist and recommend its passage.

July 28, 1854.

[Senate Report No. 372.]

Mr. Mason made the following report:

The Committee on Foreign Relations, to whom was referred the petition of Robert M. Walsh, late secretary of the United States legation in Mexico, have had the same under consideration and now report:

That the petitioner represents that from the 1st of November, 1848, to the 1st of February, 1849, he acted as chargé d'affaires of the United States in Mexico, during the absence on leave of Mr. Clifford, the United States minister to that Republic, and that he again acted in the same capacity from the date of Mr. Clifford's recall until the arrival of his successor, Mr. Letcher, a period of five months. That on those occasions he was regularly presented to the Mexican Government as chargé d'affaires, and as such, charged with all the duties and responsibilities of the mission. That after his return to the United States, in 1849, he applied to Congress for the difference between the pay of a secretary of legation and that of a chargé d'affaires, which had always been allowed under similar circumstances, amounting to $1,666.66, of which he received, under the provisions of the general civil and diplomatic appropriation act of March 3, 1851, one-half the amount claimed, viz, $833.33.

In support of his claim he refers to the act aforesaid, and files a letter from the Secretary of State, addressed to the Hon. John A. McClernand, chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives, dated 21st of December, 1851, which fully sustains the statements of the petition; and the Secretary adds:

The merits of claims of this character must depend on circumstances. The duties of the mission of the United States at Mexico are at all times arduous and important; and Mr. Walsh's dispatches to the Department show that he faithfully discharged them. The expenses of living in that city are high, and the expenses of the secretary of legation are necessarily increased, when, throngh any cause, he is left at the head of the mission. The statements of Mr. Walsh's letter (petition) are correct, and the circumstance of his having been presented by the minister as chargé d'affaires ad interim, pursuant to instructions of this Department, would seem to warrant a favorable consideration of his claim for an outfit.

An examination of the precedents in similar cases has satisfied the committee that the usual practice heretofore has been to grant to secretaries of legation temporarily performing the duties of chargé d'affaires, during the absence of the minister, the compensation of chargé d'affaires, though not to allow them an outfit except in special and peculiar cases. Why it was that the Thirty-first Congress departed from the usual custom in the case of Mr. Walsh, they have been unable to ascertain, and regarding this case as standing upon the same basis with numberless others of a similar character, in which the full compensation has been allowed, the committee can see no good reason for making a discrimination against this claimant, and they accordingly report a bill for an amount, which, with the sum heretofore received by him, will make up the full difference between the compensation of a secretary of legation and that of a chargé d'affaires for the time he acted in the latter capacity, and recommend its passage.

[See p. 696.]

July 26, 1854.

[Senate Report No. 373.]

Mr. Mason made the following report:

The Committee on Foreign Relations, to whom was referred the memorial of George W. Lippett, United States consult Vienna, praying compensation for diplomatic services alleged to have been rendered by him, have had the same under consideration, and now report:

It appears from a letter of the Secretary of State, dated July 17, 1854, in answer to inquiries made by the committee, that from the 13th October, 1852, on the return to the United States of Mr. McCurdy, our chargé d'affaires at Vienna, to the 10th December following, when Mr. Foote, his successor, was presented, the archives of the legation were left in the hands of the memorialist; and that from the recall of Mr. Foote, on the 21st May, 1853, till the arrival of his successor, Mr. Jackson, on the 13th of September of the same year, the memorialist was again left in charge of the legation; and the Secretary adds: "The services he rendered are regarded as useful and necessary; and although he was not charged with any special diplomatic duties, he had occasion, during the intervals in which he had charge of the property of the legation, to correspond with the minister of foreign affairs on official matters; and the position in which he was placed exposed him, it is presumed, to expenses such as would not have been incurred under other circumstances, and such as Congress has on several occasions seen fit to reimburse."

The committee regard this case as resting on the same basis of others in which compensation has been allowed, and therefore report a bill for the relief of the memorialist, and recommend its passage.

July 28, 1854.

[Senate Report No. 374.]

Mr. Mason made the following report:

The Committee on Foreign Relations, to whom was referred the memorial of Henry Savage, United States consul at Guatemala, praying compensation for diplomatic services alleged to have been rendered by him, have had the same under consideration, and now report:

In a letter from the Secretary of State, dated 13th February, 1854, in answer to one of inquiry by the Hon. Thomas H. Bayly, chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives, it is stated that

from early in 1830 until toward the close of 1833 Mr. Henry Savage corresponded with this Department in a diplomatic character, and as during that period there was no chargé d'affaires of the United States in that Republic, he assumed the functions of that agent.

It also appears that from the spring of 1842, say April or May, until the 17th November. 1848, Mr. Savage acted as chargé in the absence of any accredited agent to Central America.

He has also corresponded with this Department from the 10th May, 1850, until the present time, during which period there has been no accredited representative of the United States to the Republic of Guatemala, and the archives and property of the former legation in Guatemala have been almost constantly in his care.

The only communication on record in the Department addressed to him in relation to his diplomatic correspondence is by Mr. Buchanan, under date of 3d June, 1848, which acknowledges the receipt of letters from the 18th June, 1842, to 20th March, 1818, and adds: "These letters have furnished the Department with most acceptable information upon the subject of Central American affairs within the periods mentioned, for which I offer you my hearty thanks."

It may be proper to state further, that the information communicated to the Department by Mr. Savage has always been interesting and important.

From the character of the services rendered by the memorialist, as represented by the Secretary, the committee do not feel authorized to regard him as a regular diplomatic agent of the United States; but yet, in view of the importance of those services to the interests of our Government, and of the time and labor which the memorialist must have expended in their performance, they feel disposed to allow $1,000 per annum for the period during which he was engaged therein, which they believe to be a reasonable compensation under all the circumstances, and report a bill accordingly.

July 28, 1854.

[Senate Report No. 375.]

Mr. Mason made the following report:

The Committee on Foreign Relations, to whom was referred the memorial of J. B. Holmans, late United States secretary of legation in Chile, praying additional compensation for extra clerical duties performed by him, have had the same under consideration, and now report:

It is stated in the memorial that from the 16th February, 1850, to the 24th June following, owing to the declension of the office by Mr. Walsh and the death of Mr. Hardin, his successor, before reaching the post, there was in fact no secretary to the United States legation in Chile, and that consequently, upon the appointment of the memorialist to that office on the 24th June, 1850, in addition to the current duties of the office he had also to perform all the unfinished business which had accrued from the 16th February preceding, and which consisted in recording in the books of the legation the dispatches and letters during the interval above mentioned, whilst there was no secretary present, as well as in indexing the same; and further, that prior to his connection with that legation none of its records had been indexed, and that he made a full and complete index not only to the papers of the late minister, Mr. Peyton, but also to those of his immediate predecessor, Mr. Barton, as well as a considerable portion of the early records, which he also would have completed but for ill health and the large accumulation of new business in the legation, which required his constant attention.

These statements are fully sustained by a letter from Mr. Peyton, our then minister in Chile, dated May 24, 1853, addressed to the memorialist, and also by a letter from the Secretary of State, addressed to the Hon. Thomas H. Bayly, chairman of the Committee of Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives, dated February 9, 1854. his letter, Mr. Peyton says:

Inasmuch as you performed the labor, it appears to me just and reasonable that you should receive the compensation attached to the office, etc.

And further:

This allowance is rendered more proper on account of the great expense in coming to and returning from Chile, which is but little less than $1,000 for the round trip.

In his letter above mentioned the honorable Secretary of State says:

I have to inform you that Mr. Holmans has correctly stated the fact of the absence for several months of any secretary to the legation at Santiago, and from the correspondence of Mr. Peyton, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to the Republic of Chile, it is evident that Mr. Holmans was taxed with the performance of onerous duties which had accumulated prior to his own appointment.

In this view of the case I have no hesitation in stating that the Department regards Mr. Holmans justly entitled to extra compensation for these extraordinary services.

In view of all the circumstances of this case the committee are of opinion that the memorialist is entitled to receive the compensation of secretary of legation, whose duties he is shown to have actually performed from the 16th February, 1850, and inasmuch as from that time to the 24th June, 1850, when he formally entered upon his official duties, that compensation had not been paid to any other person, no injustice can result to the Government from its allowance to him. They therefore report a bill in his favor, and recommend its passage.

[See pp. 677, 683.]

July 28, 1854.

[Senate Report No. 376.]

Mr. Mason made the following report:

The Committee on Foreign Relations, to whom was referred the petition of Peter Parker, secretary of legation of the United States and Chinese interpreter, praying compensation for his services as chargé d'affaires ad interim, have had the same under consideration, and now respectfully report:

That, in answer to inquiries made by the chairman of the committee, the Secretary of State says, in a letter dated 24th July, 1854: "It appears from the records and files of this Department that Dr. Parker (the petitioner) was acting as chargé d'affaires ad interim during the time specified in his petition," viz, from the 24th May, 1852, to the 31st January, 1853.

The committee, finding nothing in this case to distinguish it from others of a similar character in which such allowances have been made, report a bill in his favor, and recommend its passage.

[See pp. 642, 684.]

July 28, 1854.

[Senate Report No. 377.]

Mr. Mason made the following report:

The Committee on Foreign Relations, to whom was referred the petition of Joseph Graham, United States consul at Buenos Ayres, praying compensation for services as chargé d'affaires ad interim at that place, have had the same under consideration, and now report: